Passing through Life

Valencia gasped, opening her eyes. Kael had only removed his robe until he noticed her standing. He walked to her and grabbed her shoulder.

“Did I wake you up?” he asked.

Her gaze moved slowly to him, easing her. She pulled him in, leaning on his chest and silently crying.

“I just… had a nightmare… that’s all,” she whispered.

Kael nodded, patting her back and soothing her. He smiled and hugged her tightly.

“Would you like me to sing a lullaby for you?” he wondered.

Valencia paused, pushing him away to look at him.

“You?” she repeated, her brows furrowing. He nodded warmly. “You know how to sing… lullabies?”

“Yes. Should I sing you one?” he asked confidently.

She laughed, hiding her lips. She tilted her head down as she stared at him, making him blush.

“Sure… let’s see what kind of lullaby you are able to sing…” she answered.

Kael smiled, grabbing her cheek. He pulled her in for a kiss before placing her head on his lap. He cleared his throat like he was in a standing ovation.

“Five little ducks went out one day. Over the hill and faraway…” he sang.

She chuckled. He looked down, tickling her. She cackled as she pushed his hands away.

“Stop!” she demanded.

Kael cupped her head and stared down at her.

“I was testing my voice… now I’m ready to sing,” he chimed.

“Sure…” she teased.

He brushed her hair over her head.

“Drift, little lantern, drift through the night, /Nobody near you, still everything’s bright. /Roads may be empty, stars may be few, /Still sings the whole sky softly to you.”

Kael sang the lullaby, throwing her off. His voice was melodic and soothing, calming her down. Her eyes slowly closed as he continued. He watched her sleep peacefully by his side before closing his eyes beside her.

As the sunray’s warmth caressed Valencia’s eyelids, she opened her eyes slowly to stare at the balcony. She sat up and looked for Kael. Tulsie walked in with a bucket of clean water and a small towel.

“Good morning, My Lady. Here’s your morning water,” Tulsie said. Valencia nodded, washing her face. “Will you be heading to the forest alone again?”

“Yes…” Valencia answered softly. The thought of Vrastos lingered in her head. She sighed heavily as she hurried to get dressed.

Once Valencia changed, she walked to the forest, heading to the cabin. She gripped the rims of her gloves and paused.

“He treated my father like a puppet… to manipulate,” she muttered.

Just as she nearly marked the tree—

A monster appeared between her and the cabin. Valencia froze, taking a step back. This monster wasn’t like those four-legged monsters… It stood on two legs.

“I smell… something unpleasant from you…” the monster spoke in a different language.

Valencia trembled, her eyes widening. It talks? In Hanitian….? She held her breath.

The monster glared at her, pointing at her with its spiked stick.

“Who are you, and why… do you smell familiar?” it questioned.

Valencia bit her lower lip. I may have learned Hanitian during the Academy… but I cannot speak it fluently.

Many espers in the past had learned the language and named it throughout the years, yet no one had dared speak it…

The monster raised one brow, despite its darkest green skin, which only showed a lump.

“Oh… so humans can still not speak our language?” it cackled, then smiled. It lowered its posture, placing the stick on the ground. The monster charged, then leaped. “Then die!”

Valencia gulped, falling to the ground. She closed her eyes and raised her hands.

“Vrastos, you idiot!” she screamed. The Void power from her hands formed a hundred swords, piercing the monster before allowing the monster’s weapon to reach Valenica.

The monster gagged, frozen. It gasped in the middle before…

“You… no wonder… that bastard’s power… that stupid human who sealed me…”

Then the monster went still, its weapon falling to the ground. The Void returned inside Valencia as the body of the monster fell… into the Void dimension—Vrastos stood in front of her, staring at her. She clenched her fists.

“You… bastard!” she yelled.

Vrastos walked to her, grabbing her by the front door. As soon as she stepped inside, the cabin disappeared. Then he dragged her to the dungeon, into the dimension.

Athesia looked at the monster that Valencia just killed and that Vrastos brought into the Void dimension before it fell, rubbing her chin.

“This is the Demon King’s lowly soldier…”

“A grish…”

“A grish?” Valencia repeated.

Vrastos looked at her before averting his gaze.

“The Demon King is obviously the strongest. The king in the pyramid. Then he has his general, whom he trusts most. Below the general level are the captain, lieutenant, and noir. Below them are these grishes. Simple but not as loose as the animals that you have been encountering,” Vrastos explained.

Valencia tightened her jaw. Athesia turned to her and paused.

“Something else is on your mind, child?”

“How could you treat my father like that?!” Valencia exploded.

“What do you mean—?”

“He was how old? You talked to him like death is a simple matter!” she interrupted.

“Because death is…” he replied.

“Really? So, should I go and die because it’s so simple?” Valencia threatened.

“Vessel, you know that’s not what I mean—”

“Then what?! Telling him to kill people because they mean harm?” she argued. Vrastos stared at her in silence. “If it weren’t for your past actions, my father wouldn’t be treated like a monster!”

“Despite his merits, he was still considered a monster!” Vrastos raged.

Valencia frowned, her chest tensing.

“Yet… he chose not to become one. You did… at one point,” Valencia whispered.

Vrastos’s body shook.

“Yes. So what?! I chose to become one! I hated everything about humans! You all just become pawns for the Supreme Goddess! Why don’t you all beg her to save you all?!” he yelled, pointing at Athesia.

Athesia looked at him, her brows creasing.

“Vrastos—”

“You know that’s not true! You know my father would choose to sacrifice for the future!” Valencia cried. She stomped toward Vrastos and pushed him twice as strongly as she could. “My father sacrificed himself for my future… so that I won’t have to work hard… so that I won’t have to go through what he had to, growing up!”

Vrastos’s jaw twisted, remembering the night he had killed Eureon’s parents to save him. He closed his eyes. Valencia fell to her knees, wailing. Each tear dropped to the never-ending ground rippled like water. The monster beside Athesia soon turned to ash, floating in the dimension's air.

“You’re right… I knew, but I wanted to protect him… I wanted to make sure that no one would dare to hurt him,” Vrastos claimed, watching the monster’s ashes. “Yet, he remained stubborn because he knew that sacrificing himself was the only way to accomplish that. He was a true idiot who only thought of others… before himself.”

Athesia observed them in silence, taking a step forward.

“I am partly guilty… for your father’s decision,” she added. Valencia looked at her. “I… practically begged him about the good that would come if he had used his power to stop the Demon King. I just didn’t expect that this was what the humans who wanted to harm him wanted. For they, who were also the ones who stole half of my power and handed it to a small child who was capable of holding my power at will.”

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